Cooking 101

Holiday gift hint No. 736: Get your chef wannabe a gift certificate to learn a new dish or two. You pick the cuisine, you pay the fee, and you give the gift, but in the end, it's your tastebuds that sing a song of sweet satisfaction when your personal chef shows off his or her new skills. Think about it. Or just go yourself. Here's a list of what's coming up throughout the valley until just after the holidays are well out the door and on their way to next year.

Basque Market

All classes start at 6 p.m. Cost is $20-$30. Class size limited to 20 people. All classes take place at The Basque Market, 608 W. Grove St., 208-433-1208, TheBasqueMarket.com.

Holiday Tapas—Nov. 29. Learn to make a variety of tapas, including delicious croquetas, pesto torta and port-poached figs.

Spanish Sweets—Dec. 13. Who doesn't love a good hunk of chocolate? Learn to make chocolate ganache with Itxassou cherry sauce, chocolate flan and gateaux Basque.

Soup, Soup, Soup—Jan. 10. One of The Basque Market's most loved classes, you'll learn how to make three of their most popular soups: garlic, potato leek and red bean with chorizo.

Easy Cookin'

A variety of chefs specializing in cuisines from all over the world frequent Easy Cookin'. All classes are held at Easy Cookin', 7121 Overland Rd., 208-323-8477, EasyCookin.com

The Art of Soup with Chef Jon Mortimer—Jan. 9, 6:30 p.m., $45. What's for dinner after all the fuss of the holiday season? How about soup? Jon Mortimer's menu this evening includes "starchless" cream of broccoli soup, easy tomato basil soup, corn and roasted pepper chowder, smoked salmon bisque and lemon chicken soup.

Let's Do Sushi with Ikuko Minami—Jan 19, 6:30 p.m., $45. Originally from Osaka, Japan, Ikuko learned to make sushi in her Japanese kitchen with her mother and sisters. The evening's menu includes temaki sushi, maki, California roll, nigiri sushi, Japanese sweets (served but not demonstrated), sake and green tea.

Pizza with Wolf Bake Stone—Dec. 17. Learn to make all the bits and pieces of a great pizza, including Mortimer's pizza dough, tomato and basil pizza sauce, and the perfect white sauce and discover numerous pizza toppings and variations.

Classes are taught by Ryan Lancaster. Kids ages 4 to 18 can also attend CHF's Young Chef's Academy. For more information, call 208-939-2550. Community cooking classes are held at CHF, 104 S. Orchard, 208-343-7769, ShopCHF.com.